The Steelers and superstar wide receiver Antonio Brown have opened contract extension talks, reports Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Brown is set to enter the final year of his deal in 2017, though he and the Steelers are optimistic about reaching a new agreement well before training camp, a source told Fowler.
The 28-year-old Brown is fresh off his fourth straight 100-catch campaign and could push to become the NFL’s highest-paid receiver as a result. A.J. Green of the division-rival Bengals currently paces the league’s wideouts in annual salary ($15MM), while Super Bowl-bound Falcons standout Julio Jones leads the pack in guaranteed money ($35.5MM). Without an extension, Brown will play 2017 on a $4.71MM salary and count $13.618MM against the Steelers’ salary cap.
An extension is clearly the goal, though, as Brown told ESPN’s First Take on Friday that he’d like to spend the rest of his career in Pittsburgh (Twitter link via Fowler). That came after Steelers president Art Rooney II said Tuesday that Brown is “certainly a player that we would like to have on the team for a while.” Rooney also brushed off Brown’s behind-the-scenes issues – including his decision last month to broadcast head coach Mike Tomlin‘s fiery speech after the Steelers’ divisional-round win over the Chiefs on Facebook – as “little annoyances.”
It’s easy to see why the Steelers are willing to put up with “little annoyances” from Brown: Since they selected him in the sixth round of the 2010 draft, the 5-foot-10, 181-pounder has hauled in 632 receptions and 50 touchdowns in just 101 games. Brown has also exceeded the 1,100-yard plateau five times – including a ridiculous 1,834-yard showing in 2015.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
This should be interesting…
It will require an astronomical amount of guaranteed money.
Probably will end up highest paid WR on a backloaded contract with a big signing bonus. But that’s obvious.
So recording team meetings on YouTube means nothing. Coach and organization such hypocrites. Brown will fit right in with such a dirty organization
Yes, when you are the best WR in the NFL. When you’re a sure-thing HOFer, you kind of get away with stuff. I’m a Ravens fan and look at Ray Lewis. Same with Suggs, Big Ben, Antonio, James Harrison, LeVeon Bell. NE takes on a bunch of thugs too and heck, they are caught cheating in multiple ways. No team has morals. Cowboys are the worst though, always have been.
Trade him to Baltimore for a 4 4th rounders.